The Journals
of Lewis and Clark: Dates July 13, 1805 - July 15, 1805
The following
excerpts are taken from entries of the Journals of Lewis
and Clark. Dates: July 13, 1805 - July 15, 1805
July 13, 1805
Saturday 13. The morning being fair and calm Captain Lewis
had all the remaining baggage embarked on board the six
canoes, which sailed with two men in each for the upper
camp. Then with a sick man and the Indian woman, he left
the encampment, and crossing over the river went on by land
to join captain Clarke. From the head of the Whitebear islands
he proceeded in a southwest direction, at the distance of
three miles, till he struck the Missouri, which he then
followed till he reached the place where all the party were
occupied in boat-building. On his way he passed a very large
Indian lodge, which was probably designed as a great council-house,
but it differs in its construction from all that we have
seen lower down the Missouri or elsewhere. The form of it
was a circle two hundred and sixteen feet in circumference
at the base, and composed of sixteen large cottonwood poles
about fifty feet long, and at their thicker ends, which
touched the ground, about the size of a man's body: they
were distributed at equal distances, except that one was
omitted to the east, probably for the entrance. From the
circumference of this circle the poles converged towards
the centre where they were united and secured by large withes
of willow brush. There was no covering over this fabric,
in the centre of which were the remains of a large fire,
and round it the marks of about eighty leathern lodges.
He also saw a number of turtledoves, and some pigeons, of
which he shot one differing in no respect from the wild
pigeon of the United States.
The
country exhibits its usual appearances, the timber confined
to the river, the country on both sides as far as the eye
can reach being entirely destitute of trees or brush. In
the low ground in which we are building the canoes, the
timber is larger and more abundant than we have seen it
on the Missouri for several hundred miles. The soil too
is good, for the grass and weeds reach about two feet high,
being the tallest we have observed this season, though on
the high plains and prairies the grass is at no season above
three inches in height. Among these weeds are the sandrush,
and nettle in small quantities; the plains are still infested
by great numbers of the small birds already mentioned, among
whom is the brown curlew. The current of the river is here
extremely gentle; the buffalo have not yet quite gone, for
the hunters brought in three in very good order. It requires
some diligence to supply us plentifully, for as we reserve
our parched meal for the Rocky mountains, where we do not
expect to find much game, our principal article of food
is meat, and the consumption of the whole thirty-two persons
belonging to the party, amounts to four deer, an elk and
a deer, one buffalo every twenty four hours. The mosquitoes
and gnats persecute us as violently as below, so that we
can get no sleep unless defended by biers, with which we
are all provided. We here found several plants hitherto
unknown to us, and of which we preserved specimens.
Serjeant Ordway proceeded with the six canoes five miles
up the river, but the wind becoming so high as to wet the
baggage he was obliged to unload and dry it. The wind abated
at five o'clock in the evening, when he again proceeded
eight miles and encamped. The next morning,
July
14, 1805
Sunday, July 14,
he joined us about noon. On leaving the Whitebear camp he
passed at a short distance a little creek or run coming
in on the left. This had been already examined and called
Flattery run; it contains back water only, with very extensive
low grounds, which rising into large plains reach the mountains
on the east; then passed a willow island on the left within
one mile and a half, and reached two miles further a cliff
of rocks in a bend on the same side. In the course of another
mile and a half he passed two islands covered with cottonwood,
box-alder, sweet-willow, and the usual undergrowth, like
that of the Whitebear islands. At thirteen and three quarter
miles he came to the mouth of a small creek on the left;
within the following nine miles he passed three timbered
islands, and after making twenty-three and a quarter miles
from the lower camp, arrived at the point of woodland on
the north where the canoes were constructed.
The day was fair and warm; the men worked very industriously,
and were enabled by the evening to lanch the boats, which
now want only seats and oars to be complete. One of them
is twenty-five, the other thirty-three feet in length and
three feet wide. Captain Lewis walked out between three
and four miles over the rocky bluffs to a high situation,
two miles from the river, a little below Fort Mountain creek.
The country which he saw was in most parts level, but occasionally
became varied by gentle rises and descents, but with no
timber except along the water. From this position, the point
at which the Missouri enters the first chain of the Rocky
mountains bore south 28° west about twenty-five miles, according
to our estimate.
The northern extremity of that chain north 73° west at the
distance of eighty miles.
To the same extremity of the second chain north 65° west
one hundred and fifty miles.
To the most remote point of a third and continued chain
of these mountains north 50° west about two hundred miles.
The direction of the first chain was from south 20° east
to north 20° west; of the second, from south 45° east to
north 45° west; but the eye could not reach their southern
extremities, which most probably may be traced to Mexico.
In a course south 75° west, and at the distance of eight
miles is a mountain, which from its appearance we shall
call Fort Mountain. It is situated in the level plain, and
forms nearly a square, each side of which is a mile in extent.
These sides, which are composed of a yellow clay with no
mixture of rock or stone whatever, rise perpendicularly
to the height of three hundred feet, where the top becomes
a level plain covered, as Captain Lewis now observed, with
a tolerably fertile mould two feet thick, on which was a
coat of grass similar to that of the plain below: it has
the appearance of being perfectly inaccessible, and although
the mounds near the falls somewhat resemble it, yet none
of them are so large.
July
15, 1805
Monday, July 15.
We rose early, embarked all our baggage on board the canoes,
which though light in number are still heavily loaded, and
at ten o'clock set out on our journey. At the distance of
three miles we passed an island, just above which is a small
creek coming in from the left, which we called Fort Mountain
creek, the channel of which is ten yards wide but now perfectly
dry. At six miles we came to an island opposite to a bend
towards the north side; and reached at seven and a half
miles the lower point of a woodland at the entrance of a
beautiful river, which in honor of the secretary of the
navy we called Smith's river. This stream falls into a bend
on the south side of the Missouri, and is eighty yards wide.
As far as we could discern its course it wound through a
charming valley towards the southeast, in which many herds
of buffalo were feeding, till at the distance of twenty
five miles it entered the Rocky mountains, and was lost
from our view. After dining near this place we proceeded
on four and three quarter miles to the head of an island;
four and a quarter miles beyond which is a second island
on the left; three and a quarter miles further in a bend
of the river towards the north, is a wood where we encamped
for the night, after making nineteen and three quarter miles.
We find the prickly pear, one of the greatest beauties as
well as the greatest inconveniences of the plains, now in
full bloom. The sunflower too, a plant common on every part
of the Missouri from its entrance to this place, is here
very abundant and in bloom. The lambsquarter, wild-cucumber,
sandrush, and narrowdock are also common. Two elk, a deer,
and an otter, were our game to-day.
The river has now become so much more crooked than below
that we omit taking all its short meanders, but note only
its general course, and lay down the small bends on our
daily chart by the eye. The general width is from one hundred
to one hundred and fifty yards. Along the banks are large
beds of sand raised above the plains, and as they always
appear on the sides of the river opposite to the southwest
exposure, seem obviously brought there from the channel
of the river by the incessant winds from that quarter: we
find also more timber than for a great distance below the
falls.
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